I've always made a point of stressing, on this site and off it, that frugality isn't the same thing as deprivation. Ideally, in fact, living a frugal life means you have more money and time to spend on the things that really matter to you. As I put it in this 2010 entry, "we really can have our cake and eat it too, as long as we're willing to bake it ourselves."
The problem is that a lot of people don't really know how to cut back without going to extremes. They'll try to trim their budgets down to the absolute bare bones, and then after a few weeks of feeling deprived, they snap and go on a spending binge. Then follows self-recrimination, a vow to turn over a new leaf, another period of self-denial...and the cycle repeats itself.
The best way to avoid this problem—sometimes known as "frugal fatigue"—is to make sure you allow yourself to indulge a little while you're saving money. There are plenty of treats that you can enjoy for very little money or even no money at all, such as fluffy TV shows, hand-picked flowers, homemade coffee treats, cozy bedding, library books, online puzzles, and other forms of cheap entertainment. Little luxuries like these make a frugal lifestyle a joyful and abundant one.
This is the theme of my latest Money Crashers article. I outline the causes and symptoms of frugal fatigue and then offer a list of cheap luxuries that can alleviate it, such as fresh flowers, fancy toiletries, home-cooked gourmet meals, and even the extra-plushy toilet paper. I give prices for each item on the list and discuss ways of lowering the cost still more, so you can stretch your "mad money" as far as possible.
Read all about these luxuries that won't break the bank here:
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